How To Effectively Treat Eyestrain

To relieve eyestrain and relax the eyes, you should practice the following technique called 'swinging.

LONG SWING

The Long Swing should be practiced for five minutes before going to bed at night and for five minutes on arising in the morning.

However, it is never a good idea to stick to any particular exercise for a long time. It is better to change from one to another so that the movements do not become automatic and routine.

Before beginning the Long Swing, stand erect in an easy posture and begin to sway the body slowly and easily from side to side, enough to throw all the weight on one foot at a time but not enough to lift either foot from the floor. Then, when the body is moving rhythmically, without jerking from side to side, you are ready for the Long Swing, in which the body relaxes through mental control as well as the physical shifting of the eyes.

Ideally, it should be done out of doors. If that is impracticable, it should at least be done in front of a window, which will give you a deeper perspective than you can get within the four walls of a room.

Stand erect with the feet about twelve inches apart. Do not "square" your shoulders. Your body must be at ease, head up, arms hanging loosely at your sides. It is the body we are going to turn-not the head. It must move with the body and not independently.

Standing in the middle of the room, swing the body to the right, shifting the weight to the right foot and letting the left heel come off the floor. Your turn should bring you facing the right wall, with shoulders parallel to the right wall. Now swing the body to the left until you are facing the left wall, shoulders parallel to the left wall, shifting the weight to the left foot and letting the right heel rise.

Back and forth at the rate of about thirty swings a minute. About the tempo of a slow waltz. Be careful not to do it faster than that. Most nervous people do it too quickly. You are swinging, not jerking yourself around or going into a whirl. Your arms hang easily at your sides, swaying a little with your body. Keep your head upright by imagining that it is brushing the ceiling.

Your eyes are open but not staring. You are not trying to see. When endeavoring to relieve eyestrain, blink frequently and easily, and, as you swing, let your eyes follow the line of the picture molding around the room. Now imagine a molding a foot lower and let your eyes follow that line. Keep dropping the line, a foot at a time until it is just below eye level.

Keep your mind on that imaginary line.

You are relaxed as you swing-slowly and regularly -feeling that the room is revolving in the opposite direction. Your shoulders hang free and without tension, your head is up so there is no pulling on the back of the neck; your eyes are looking, without trying to see, from near to far, as you follow your imaginary line. In other words, your eyes are rapidly shifting focus from objects within the room to distant objects outside the window.

Imagine that you have a long-handled paintbrush, covered with jet-black ink, fastened on the end of your nose. Swing with eyes closed and, as you swing, paint the imaginary line with your brush, making it a deep soft black, and keeping it smooth and even.

Keep in mind an imaginary pull from the top of your head to the ceiling and, as you swing in that revolving room, you will get a sense of freedom and release.

The Long Swing is particularly helpful for myopic eyes because it induces them to shift easily and naturally. It is an essential factor in securing relaxation for all forms of eyestrain. Only by making it a part of your daily routine will you discover to what extent it can relieve not merely eyestrain but fatigue, pain, and other physical discomfort.